


Cotton Candy Skies

by FinnWyatt



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Original Character(s), Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:00:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23515819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FinnWyatt/pseuds/FinnWyatt
Summary: Adrian has a rough mental day and turns to old habits. Eli helps however he can.
Relationships: Eli/Adrian





	Cotton Candy Skies

It had been a tense morning. It was a Saturday, Eli didn’t have work, and Adrian had been in a mood since he got up, sitting at his desk and glaring at his copy of The Hobbit like it had offended him somehow, so Eli figured he would take the car and get some shopping done. “Just some groceries,” he told Adrian as he pulled on his canvas jacket. “I’ll be back in a couple hours tops.” The other man simply grunted, never looking up from his desk.

Eli sighed and stood in the doorway for an uncomfortable stretch of time, tapping his fingers against the doorframe and staring at Adrian with a question on his lips. But, after a moment of tense silence, he eventually shook his head and left, throwing a “Text me if you need anything,” over his shoulder as he pulled the door closed behind him. 

He had been gone for a mere half an hour when Adrian finally lost what little composure he had been hanging onto all morning. Every once in a while, there would be days like this. The silence that filled the apartment would hit him like a wave, filling his ears and throat and choking him until he was trembling for air. Those were the days when he would usually latch onto Eli’s presence, holding onto something to remind himself that he wasn’t alone. But today he was. So, in a momentary lapse of judgement, he allowed himself to give in to an impulse that hadn’t made itself known since before Eli moved in. He reached under his desk and felt around for the half-empty bottle of vodka he used to keep under there for days like this. (Living alone had been hard on him in the beginning. He probably would have become a barfly if it hadn’t been for his utter hatred of drinking around strangers.) 

Eli knew that he drank – Adrian hadn’t seen the point in keeping it a secret – but he had also listened when he told him that he was working on it, and that he was looking for a roommate, not a therapist. So, he left it alone, which turned out to be pretty easy seeing as Adrian managed to stop the drinking fairly quickly after Eli moved in. 

But Eli wasn’t there, and Adrian had been slipping all day. It’s fine, though, he thought to himself as he sat back up and took a swing of the clear liquid, his face scrunching up as he swallowed, no longer used to the burn in his throat. So what if he fell back into old habits as soon as he was left alone? It wasn’t like he was an addict. He just hated the empty silence. 

By the time he heard Eli in the hallway again, he was definitely out of it, sitting in Eli’s crappy old armchair and staring out the living room window at the soft colors of the sky. He heard Eli open the door, the rustling of plastic bags sounding throughout the living room as he made his way to the kitchen, setting the bags down on the counter and starting to put everything in its proper place. Neither man said anything for a few minutes, until Eli walked back into the living room, stopping right behind Adrian. It was silent again for a few seconds before Eli spoke, his voice a strange mix of confusion and teasing. “What are you doing there?” 

Adrian chuckled absently to himself. It made sense for Eli to ask. After all, the chair was just about the only place in the apartment where Adrian wouldn’t sit. Eli had found it at an antique store downtown shortly after he moved in and insisted on buying it. It had smelled like wood polish and cough syrup and looked like something you would find in the basement of an old folks’ home, but Eli liked it, and he needed a place to sit in the apartment anyway. So, they took it home and Eli placed it smack dab in the middle of their living room. Adrian had complained about it constantly for a few weeks before eventually toning it down to a quiet loathing that materialized itself through avoiding the chair at all costs. Even when he wasn’t sitting at his desk, he would usually sit on the floor before he touched the ugly thing.

When Eli received no real response, he sighed, walking around the chair slowly. He stopped slightly to the side of it, his eyebrows raising as he took in the sight before him. Adrian was curled in on himself, skinny arms wrapped around his legs, chin resting on his knees. His hair was a mess of untamed curls, and there was a slight blush on his face, his eyes glossy and red. He didn’t acknowledge Eli, instead staring straight ahead at the open window, cool winter air flowing into the room, seeping through his thin t-shirt and jeans.

Eli let out a soft, “Jesus,” upon seeing him, walking quickly to the window and closing it. He stood directly in Adrian’s line of sight, an angry sort of worry in his expression. “What the hell, man? It’s freezing out there.”

Adrian took a second to focus on the man in front of him, watching in a daze as Eli slowly pieced together what had happened while he was gone. Eli glanced down at the floor where Adrian had let the bottle from earlier fall, closing his eyes and inhaling slowly at the sight. He looked back up at Adrian after a moment and sighed. “Alright.” His voice was oddly steady, though it held a heavy note of disappointment. He sounded like he was holding back from lecturing the man, something he would have undoubtedly done upon finding anyone else in this position. But Adrian had made it clear a long time ago that that would only end ugly for the both of them, something Eli had taken to heart. He reached out for Adrian, offering his hands for support. “Come on, you idiot.” 

Adrian looked at him, and then back at the window, feeling warmer now that it was closed. He made no move to get up.

Eli huffed and leaned forward, hooking his arms under Adrian’s and dragging him up. “Jesus Christ,” he grunted, stumbling back slightly. “How can someone so skinny be so fucking heavy?” 

Adrian made a noncommittal sound in the back of his throat, steadying himself slightly with Eli’s help. He looked back toward the window and chuckled softly.

“What?” Eli asked, slightly out of breath. He turned around, searching for whatever it was that the other man could find so captivating. He found nothing.

Adrian took a deep breath, drawing Eli’s attention back to him. He met Eli’s eyes and spoke softly, as if he were disclosing the secret of the universe. “I get why you like the sky so much…” He looked back at the window, his expression oddly intense. “Cotton candy…”

Eli scrunched up his eyebrows, training his eyes on the same place as Adrian’s once again. They widened slightly when, after a few seconds, the other man’s words sank in. Standing in their small living room, staring out the window with a drunken roommate slumped against his side, Eli was struck for the first time that day by the hues of pink and blue swirling through the sky, soft clouds imitating the appearance of the classic carnival treat. He looked back at Adrian, taking in his soft smile and far-away look, and huffed, shaking his head with a smile. He grabbed Adrian’s arm and draped it over his shoulder. “Yeah,” he sighed, slowly leading Adrian toward the hallway. “Cotton candy.”


End file.
